Lamar basketball loses at Charlotte

By David Scott

Published 10:30 pm, Saturday, November 17, 2012

Lamar's long season-opening road trip got that much longer Saturday when the Cardinals fell to the Charlotte 49ers 70-49 at Halton Arena.

The Cardinals (0-3) don't have the luxury of returning to Beaumont today - or any time soon. Starting the season with 11 consecutive (and 13 of 14) road games, they continue on to Charlottesville, Va., for a NIT Season Tip-Off game against Virginia on Monday and then face IUPUI on Tuesday, also in Charlottesville.

Then it's off to Arkansas State next weekend. It won't end until Dec. 29, when Lamar finally returns to the Montagne Center against LIU-Brooklyn.

"I think it's making us tougher," said Lamar coach Pat Knight, whose young team has seven new scholarship players. "But losing (stinks)."

The Cardinals didn't have much of a chance against the 49ers (3-0), a team Lamar handled by 18 points in Beaumont last season.

Lamar jumped to an early 8-4 lead, but was then buried under a 23-4 run by Charlotte that pretty much ended the game by the middle of the first half. Charlotte led 39-22 at halftime and by as many as 29 points in the second half.

The Cardinals wilted under Charlotte's defense, turning the ball over 22 times (leading to 25 49ers points). And although Lamar outrebounded the 49ers 49-39, Charlotte outscored the Cardinals 40-26 in the paint.

"It's pretty tough, but it's just basketball and it's what we came to school to do," said Cardinals forward Stan Brown, who had 10 rebounds and five rebounds and is one of only three seniors on the roster. "We've just got to bunker down. We've got to find whatever it is. We're searching for it."

Lamar also got 14 points and 10 rebounds from freshman forward Rhon Mitchell, who was recruited to play at Lamar last season, but was ruled ineligible before the season started.

He stayed in school and played intramural basketball.

Mitchell is the kind of player that is learning lessons the hard way about the steep challenges of college basketball - all of them on the road, so far.

"We've got to get them experience, so I can't be too negative," said Knight. "I've still got to motivate them. Our problems are too many turnovers and we're too soft. You can't have both. You can get away with being too soft, maybe, if you don't have turnovers.

"But I have to be careful with them, especially with their confidence. I've got to do a better job teaching."